making memories through food, wine and travel

Rejuvenation

Today’s post is going to be quick and easy. You see, you may notice a few changes on the blog today – a new look, new features and finally…index pages! As most bloggers know, changes like that are not so quick and easy. They take time…lots of time. But we had some this weekend and we figured it was time to liven things up a bit around here, make some improvements, get around to the things we’ve been procrastinating. Frankly, we were ready for a little rejuvenation. So was this recipe…

Seafood enchiladas have long been a favorite summertime dish for us. My grandpa passed along a recipe to me years ago after clipping it from a magazine in the lobby of the hospital where he volunteered. He saw it, knew my affection for seafood, and thought I would like it. He was right. (He found at least 50 recipes…perhaps he was trying to tell me something.) Well, my cooking skills have much improved since then and I opted to scrap the pre-mixed seasoning packet and put my own spin on these babies.

The original recipe calls for regular cream cheese, butter and a ranch dressing seasoning packet. I typically swap out the regular cream cheese for reduced fat cream cheese. I’ve even used the fat-free or a mixture of the two and the results don’t vary at all. I also usually switch out the butter for oil. Now this time, having worked my way around a kitchen a bit more these past few years, I decided to bag the ranch seasoning mix and all its sodium for my own mixture of spices. So in place of the ranch dressing mixture I combined parsley, dill, chives, salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder and onion powder.

As for the recipe, it’s simple. Mix the cream cheese and spices with a bit of milk in a large bowl. Reserve about a 1/4 of the mixture in a small bowl to the side. Next saute the cayenne, onion and garlic in a skillet. Toss in the crab meat, sliced black olives and Salsa Verde. The original recipe called for green chilies, but we’re rejuvenating, remember. 🙂 (Next time, I’ll make my own salsa too….) Cook this mixture for a few minutes and then add it to the large bowl with the cream cheese and spices. Fold in some Colby Jack cheese and spread the mixture evenly in the center of about 8 to 12 tortilla shells.

Next roll the enchiladas, place them in a baking dish seam-side down and top with a bit more Salsa Verde, the small bowl of cream cheese mix and some more Colby Jack. Bake the enchiladas covered for 25 minutes at 350F. Finally, uncover and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. And you’re done…see, quick and easy.

Mike and I have enjoyed these enchiladas numerous times over the years, but this was the kids’ first experience with them. I was a little skeptical. I knew they would enjoy the crab, but I wasn’t so sure about the salsa and dill flavor. Well, I should have remembered Mr. N’s affection for ranch dressing, he really liked the enchiladas and gave them 3 spoons. Miss A liked them too, but not as much as her brother. She rang in with 2 spoons. Mike and I both really enjoyed the freshened up version of the dish. I gave them 4 spoons and Mike a strong 3 spoon vote. Overall, a very successful meal. I bet Grandpa would have enjoyed them too – or at least the fact that I still make them!

Have a great week everyone. We’ll be back next week with our first recipe from our Thai cooking adventures. In the meantime, we hope you have as much fun checking out the indices as we had making them. We didn’t realize just how many states and countries we’ve visited – and just how much the kids have changed!

Like the new look Kristy! I’m not sure how much control you have with plugins on your site, but do you have the ability to install some sort of “lightbox”? Something that opens up the image in an overlay thing instead of loading in a new frame. That would be awesome (click an image on my site if you need an example… if you can get it to load :p).

I never tried seafood enchiladas before (or seafood tacos)… I’ve never been that enamoured by the idea of “fish” tacos or enchiladas, but I bet they’d be good with crab. They look like a nice, quick summery meal as well 🙂

Hello Kristy, I love your new and improved look. Great organization and full pictures make your recipes easier to find and drool while looking. I know how painful organization can be as I spent countless hours doing a complete overhaul on my site when I went to my own self hosted site. It is great but I call it a work in process. I don’t think we will ever be done. Wishing you and your family a super weekend. Take care, BAM

Love the new look , was even a wee bit distracted by it actually! great food too! Do NOT take that coat out of the closet, i have joined you in refusing to go back to winter garb and have felt quite liberated !! though you and I may be a wee bit chilly for the next few days.. we will win out in the end.. ! c

Wow, I love your new format, Kristy!! Nice job.. the wider post area means larger photos to see your great recipes.. Love your recipe as well, I can see why your Dad gave it to you:) Yay to your new look!! Index pages are brutal, I spend hours sorting mine.. and when self-hosted I spent days setting up gallery-images but it’s always worth it in the end, eh?! xx

Your organized recipe index is wonderful! Index is really nice to have, especially for readers who want to make your dishes! I have a lot of updates in my mind but I don’t have enough time to work on. Great job on index! Your new design is really nice – I love large pictures!

It looks like spring over here! Everything is fresh and new and alive. Wonderful rejuvenated look Eat, Play, Love. Doesn’t change feel great? And an index to boot! Your home organizing has expanded into your blog Kristy ;-); you inspired my spring cleaning frenzy and now, well, more pressure – lol. Love the enchiladas and I bet your Grandpa would have too. Your version of ranch dressing sounds amazing – I’ve got to give that a try! Looking forward to your homemade salsa…bise.

I LOVE the new look. And I’m going through indexing pages currently and it is NOT easy what-so-ever. I can’t get through everything in a day at all. Hopefully I will finish soon. I also love enchiladas but never thought to make them with seafood. I have to make these.

It is a serious undertaking. And we don’t have half as many recipes as you guys! My next goal is to set up one more index that breaks it down by type of dish – main course, dessert, etc. That one will take another day though.

Love the new look, Kristy. You guys must have worked hard all weekend to get this done. It isn’t at all easy. Enchiladas are great and making them at home is wonderful. I’m pinning this for future use. Isn’t it something how the foods we prepare reflect our growing confidence in the kitchen? Early on, we find recipes and prepare them verbatim, afraid to make any changes. As time goes by, we start swapping ingredients. The last, and perhaps bravest step, is when we replace the pre-made seasonings, sauces, or condiments with our own. The result is a better tasting, healthier version of the original — with a bit of unspoken pride in our accomplishment. 😉

It was quite the process John, but I’m happy with it. So is Mr. N. He likes his logo used more prominently. 🙂 It is funny how we have a growing confidence in the kitchen; although I’m not quite up to homemade cheese and whole fish yet. 😉

Congrats on having the index done! I made mine when my blog was about 2 years old and WOW, it was A TON of work, but it was a good move. Love the new look of your site, you guys deserve 6 spoons. Maybe 8! 😉

Thanks Sally! I visited your index a few times this weekend to figure out the ins and outs of indexing. 🙂 You’re right – it is a ton of work, but it’s something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time now. Glad you like the new look! Thank you. 🙂

I love the changes to your blog Kristy! That is on my list of things to do — but as you said, it takes lots of time. I am wondering if the girls would like this with the crab…..looks like a family-friendly meal! Hope you guys had a good weekend. They go by too fast!

If the girls like ranch dressing at all, the flavors should work for them. It doesn’t taste like ranch dressing per say, but it has that dill and chives thing going for it. 🙂 And I couldn’t agree more – the weekends go by WAY too fast!

What a wonderful new look to your blog, Kristy! I love being able to read and print the recipe so easily. Nice job! And these seafood enchiladas are a real winner. I am very accustomed to eating fish tacos, but never a dish quite like this, and I am quite excited about it, actually! 🙂

What’s cookin’…

Having returned from our 7-month European sabbatical, we're returning to the kitchens and neighborhoods in our own backyard with a focus on culture, education, history and delicious food. #EatPlayWorld

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